The Sweet By and By by Sara Evans

"There are no wrong choices; just a series of journeys and adventures"

The Sweet By and By by Sara Evans is an emotional rollercoaster through Jade Fitzgerald's life.  Jade is in the midst of planning her wedding when life forces her to throw open the dark closets of her past- an insecure childhood growing up with a wandering hippy mother, an absent father, and the heart ripping pain of her first love's rejection.  Before Jade walks down the aisle she has to deal with her past in ways she never would have imagined.  When her mother, Beryl, and her wild younger sister, Willow, arrives in Whisper Hollow, Tennessee for the wedding, many secrets were let out and trust that had to be rebuilt.

The book was a page turner; I enjoyed most of the pages.  I don't want to ruin the plot line and twists but there was a part of the book that upset me.  It is because of my beliefs and thoughts on certain matters.  It might not affect others as it affected me.  It is slated as a Christian book and sure there is talk of Jesus and redemption but I feel like that was a side matter in the book.  It almost feels like it was pushed in there and not thought out much.  There were so many plots, twists, and recalled memories in the book to keep it interesting but it teetered on the edge of almost being too much.  I would not say it was too much but it was almost there.  It was a refreshing read and the ending leaves you all warm and fuzzy inside.  It is a chic novel after all.  The central theme is basically you cannot run away from your past and not deal with it.  It will eventually come back and bite you in the butt.  Hopefully for most of us it doesn't bite us back a couple weeks before getting married.

I suppose I would recommend this to anyone.  If you are used to Christian fiction novels, this one might surprise you.  In my opinion it should be on contemporary shelves more than Christian shelves.  There is something for everyone in the book.

Buy It: You can buy The Sweet By and By by Sara Evans for $19.99.  It's on sale for $13.49 on Amazon right now.

Disclaimer: I received this book (as part of the Thomas Nelson Book Review Program) in exchange for an honest review. No monetary compensation was involved.